Remediation of toxic and hazardous contaminants in the environment is a growing concern. The United States Environmental Protection Agency and various state regulators continue to develop more stringent standards based on toxicological studies and the perceived risk of these contaminants. As a result, environmental remediation is an area of intense research.
For example, contaminated groundwater can, depending on the contaminants, pose serious health problems when used as a source of drinking water or as irrigation for growing crops and vegetation. Prevention or elimination of groundwater contamination is a major emphasis of research on remediation, not only of groundwater itself, but of soil and other media which can contribute to contamination of groundwater via leaching.
Excavation and disposal is a widely-applied technology for remediation of contaminated soil. Excavation, however, is not always feasible. For example, excavation under existing structures or to great depths can be cost-prohibitive or physically impossible. Further, even after soil excavation, a groundwater contamination plume can often remain.
Therefore, there remains a need for improved methods for remediation of contaminated media. It would be beneficial if such methods were cost-effective and/or easily carried out. It would also be beneficial if such methods provided for in-situ treatment of the contaminants, so as not to require physical removal of the contaminant and/or significant disturbance of the treated medium.